1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to systems, devices, and methods for cleaning and maintaining pipes and drains, and more particularly, to automated inline jetting systems that preventatively clean pipes and clear them of obstructions.
2. Background of the Invention
Restaurants, coffee shops, pet grooming and boarding shops, and any other facility that washes water and other material down their drains will eventually suffer a backup caused by a clog. In some cases, a clogged drain prevents the use of sinks or drains that are necessary for the facility to operate. When this happens, the facility must stop their operation and shut down while a plumber drives over and works to clear the clog.
Even when the clogged drains do not cause a facility to shut down, a stopped up sink or drain may limit productivity, plant capacity, or cause a safety hazard until a plumber clears the clog. Whether the clog stops all operations or merely limits productivity, the business must have a plumber come out to their facility to clear the clog.
When a plumber clears a clogged drain, they often use a portable jetting system. A portable jetting system may include a water nozzle on the end of a long hose, or snake. A plumber typically accesses a facility's waste water system through a drain or a clean-out port. The plumber will feed the snake through the drain until it reaches the clog. Once the snake reaches the clog, the plumber forces water through the nozzle at the head of the snake line. The water then breaks up the clog, flushes the debris through the drain system, and clears the pipes.
As anyone who has ever called a plumber knows, high quality plumbing services are expensive. Some of this cost is due to the fact that skilled plumbers must own and maintain a large variety of tools and equipment so that they can quickly diagnose and fix any plumbing problem they may encounter. This high expense is compounded by the fact that the average restaurant or coffee shop needs to call a plumber to clear a clogged drain or sink 1.5 times each month, 18 times per year. This plumbing expense is a drain on a business' resources. To add to a business owner's frustrations, clogged drains occur at unpredictable intervals.
In theory, clogged drains may be prevented by regularly clearing debris from sinks and drain lines before it builds up enough to cause a clog. Unfortunately, no practical system exists to clean pipes and drain lines to prevent debris from clogging wastewater systems.
What restaurants, coffee shops, pet boarders and groomers, and other businesses need is a reliable drain jetting system that is simple to operate. Business should be able to install the system with new construction or retrofit the system into existing plumbing systems. The system should also automatically and preventatively clear the pipes and drain lines of a wastewater system to substantially decrease the likelihood of debris building up in the system and causing a full-blown clog.